Over the past 30 years the dynamic range of imaging systems has increased substantially; particularly in television and digital motion picture production. This is true both for image production, where cameras and memory devices record and store image data, and for playback systems such as television receivers, computer monitors and digital cinema projectors, which reproduce and display the image data for viewing. Early television cameras had a narrow, white to black, dynamic range of about 20:1; similarly color saturation was limited. Today, electronic cameras have a dynamic range of 3000:1 or higher and the color gamut of some cameras even exceeds that of human vision. This has resulted in challenges in the testing and alignment of such cameras, and the subsequent alignment and adjustment of image reproduction systems to provide faithful reproduction of images recorded by said cameras.
Traditional front lit test charts have the benefit of being easy to use, but inherently have a low dynamic range and low color saturation. Rear-lit test systems can have a higher dynamic range and greater color saturation, but are cumbersome and awkward to use.